Life's Little Things
by Lea23S17
Summary: Its the little things that count. Little 1 shots describing moments of Sam, Dean and Natalie's childhood. Relative flashbacks to season 1. (some references to later seasons) Some will be background stories for certain siblings. each chapter will range from 1k-5k. #wee-chesters #teenchesters be prepared for fluff. Theres gonna be a lot.
1. Be Afraid of the Dark

Be Afraid of the Dark- Devil's After Me Verse

Sam is certain there is something in the closet watching them. It has for a while now. He tries to be brave. His siblings help, but he's even happier when John comes back from a hunt. If anything can get rid of the monster, he can. He didn't intend the conversation to go this direction though. From 1-2-3 AU verse.

Sam: 9

Nat: 12

Dean:13

 ** _"_** ** _When I told dad I was afraid of the thing in the closet he gave me a .45!"_**

 ** _"_** ** _What else was he supposed to do?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _I was nine years old, he was supposed to say, 'don't be afraid of the dark.'"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there!"_**

John hated leaving his children. He really did, especially when he was gone longer than he promised. He killed the engine of the impala and rolled up to the hotel's door. Three weeks. He hadn't seen his children in three weeks. It was supposed to be four days. Sighing, he climbed out of the car, his joints complaining from the long drive with few stops. It was getting harder and harder to go full speed all the time.

He already felt old.

Loaded down with all his bags and gear, he stumbled tiredly to the door, key in hand. He pushed the door open, and stepped over the undisturbed layer of salt by the door. He heard the tell-tale _click_ of the safety being taken off a gun. He looked up, a warry smile on his face, Dean was awake, his back pressed to Sam' who was snuggled into his sister, who, also woke, probably at the gun being readied, she was half sitting up, and was curled protectively around Sam, arms covering his chest.

"It's me kiddos, back to sleep." He reached for the holy water they kept at the ready by the door and took a swig of the stale water.

Dean put the safety back on the gun, and stuffed it back under his pillow. He dropped off back to sleep almost instantly.

John set all his things on the small table by the window; he didn't feel much like sleeping yet. He wanted to write in his journal about this weird new spirit he'd encountered.

Cihuateteo. The 'divine woman.' She was a bitch to get rid of. Three dead children, one man just vanished, and two more children he wasn't in time to save. He sighed again, and just watched his children sleep, safe in sound in their bed.

Sam made a small noise in his sleep and both siblings responded, Natalie moving her other arm to hold him against her, and Dean turning over to face him. They were a tangle of limbs, it was hard to tell who was who exactly under the covers. It made John smile.

Dawn was starting to color the sky outside when he heard his youngest breathe a whisper, "dad?"

"yeah sport?" he asked looking up.

"I'm stuck, I can't move."

Chuckling he got up and stood at the foot of the bed. Through the hours of early morning his siblings hold on him had only gotten tighter. "It's still early, why don't you go back to sleep?"

"Cant, gotta go."

Smiling again, he pulled the covers off their feet, finding Sam's feet was the easiest to spot . Sam's feet were almost bigger than his brother's. he grabbed his ankles, "Ready?" he asked, at Sam's nod, he just smiled, "Arms up." Sam stretched his arms up so John could slip Sam out of Natalie's and Dean's hold.

Once he was free he stood up off the bed and quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

Shaking his head he sat back down to skim his other notes, he quickly flipped past his notes on ghouls. He wasn't in the mood to think about _that_ hunt today.

Sam came back, yawning so wide John thought his mouth would split. Sam's eyes wandered to the untouched bed adjacent to his and his siblings' bed. "Did you sleep at all?" he yawned again.

"Nah, I'll sleep this afternoon. We're heading out tonight after dinner."

Sam nodded "Okay," instead of crawling back in bed, he slid into the chair opposite his dad. "I don't like this room very much. Glad to be leaving."

John chuckled, this room was almost exactly like the last one, and the time before, and the time before that. Definitely better than the abandoned cottage they stayed in three months ago. However, he had been kept inside for nearly a month, and his pale skin was a testament to how little time he'd been in the sun the past few weeks. "Sorry I had you cooped up here so long. We'll probably swing by Bobby's soon and you, Nat and Dean can get some much needed sun."

"It's been cold." Sam shrugged, "it's not about not leaving the room really… I didn't mind this time, but…" Sam's hands were fidgeting with an extra hotel pen that was scattered on the table.

"'But' what, Sammy?" he asked, trying to prompt him.

"Don't be mad?" he asked.

"How about you tell me and then I'll decide," he said calmly, and leaned back in his chair.

"About last Christmas," he started.

"Sam," John sighed, "I told you I couldn't help it," he snapped.

"No, I know, it's not about that, I know you tried, and it's okay, really!" he tried to say quickly, holding his hands in a pacifying gesture.

"Then what is it?" He asked, calming down, worried he'd scared Sam into telling him what was clearly starting to bug the kid.

Biting his chapped lip in thought, he grimaced a little, "While Dean was sleeping…I kinda…read your journal." It was a half lie. Dean would have gotten in trouble if Sam confessed the true story of Dean leaving to gamble to get more cash to buy them food.

John sighed. He knew it was a matter of time before his youngest found out about everything. Sam had been giving him odd looks for years now. Eyebrows always scrunched, like he was putting together one of the big, 500 piece puzzles. But Sam had known this whole year. It was nearing the end of October now. Which was why he had to get his kids to Singer Salvage soon. He hated being on the road during that anniversary.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" John asked.

"Sort of…I just wondered…can monsters magically appear places? Like…the closet?"

"Come again?" John asked. Sam hadn't been afraid of things in his closet since he was 5. And Dean, the age Sam was now, had put a stop to it by standing in it and yelling to the celling to leave his brother alone…or else. "You think there's something in your closet?" He asked, wondering if it was the over active imagination of childhood, or if Sam had had another one of his nightmares. The nightmare seemed most likely considering the snuggle buddies Sam had this morning.

"Okay, come'ere, I'm gonna show you something."

Sam stood and leaned into his father's side; John went ahead and pulled Sam onto his lap as he pulled out the EMF meter. "This checks for ghost and spirits, you'll learn how the air feels too when there's a ghost, it will feel cold physically, but there will also be a _wrongness_ about the air. You'll feel it right here…" He said, gently brushing the back of Sam's neck the wrong way, making him shiver, but he quickly nodded, saying he understood. "Because sometimes, this thing?" He shook it in his hand, "can be absolutely worthless, the spirit isn't around or being active enough to do anything. Sometimes Nat can see them and the thing isn't even going off. Or, it will go crazy and the only thing around is the living, and powerlines."

"Is it only for ghosts?" Sam asked.

"Yes, it's only good for ghosts."

"I don't think the thing in the closet is a ghost…we'd feel it."

John sighed, "Every monster has a weakness, some, less weaknesses than others. Do you know a Wendigo's weakness?"

"That's the monster of the man that turned because he ate someone, right?" At john's nod, Sam looked up a second, trying to recall the info he read nearly a year ago. "Fire." He said, certain.

"Very good. You don't have to worry about them here, they don't stray from the woods. Werewolves?" he tested next.

"Silver, that one's easy. Any kind of _thing_ that changes form is allergic to silver like shapeshifters and skin walkers."

"Very good." John said. "And one of the most important things to remember, what are demons…" deciding to use Sam's choice of word for it, "allergic to?" (to be fair, it made sense.)

"Salt. They can't touch it, Holy water, anything blessed by a Pastor or Priest,"

"Or blessed in general, the credentials help, but if you needed to, and knew the prayer for it, you could bless anything."

"Really?"

John nodded. "And there's one more thing to keep a demon away, what is it?"

"A trap."

John smiled a little, Sam was a little too smart at times, this being one of them, once information was in his head, and there was no getting rid of it. "And something else to remember, if it bleeds, you can kill it. Some monsters, are easy, some monsters you can kill with just a bullet. Some, however, need a consecrated iron others, run of the mill work just fine. You just have to know if it's a head shot to aim for, or a heart. Sometimes you'll have to _know_ , 'cuz them sons of bitches can be fast, and you won't have time for guess work." He pulled one more thing out of his duffle. "Which is why, I'm giving you this." He set the .45 down in front of him. San wasn't sure how a gun, a weapon to kill could be pretty. It had an engraved side, the handle white. Sam wondered if Dean had seen this one. Sam knew it would be his brother's favorite.

"I'm giving this to you to borrow for a while. We're gonna go practice this week, and we'll find one that fits you. We'll have you up to expert marksmen by New Year."

Sam just eyed the gun, he'd never been allowed to even _touch_ one before, and now he was expected to start shooting? And that soon? "Okay Dad." He said, and slid off his lap. It was still early morning and he was still rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I think I'm gonna go back to sleep for a bit."

"Okay Sport." He pulled same into a quick hug and kissed his head. "Just something to remember, fear is a good thing, it keeps you thinking. The moment you are not scared, and things are going wrong, its time to get outta dodge, understand?"

"Yes sir." Sam nodded seriously.

"Okay." He gently nudged Sam in the direction of the bed, a small smile on his face, "Sleep well."

"Good morning." He said with a cheeky smile and walked to the foot of the bed, and crawled under the covers and practically slithered back to his spot between his siblings.

John waited till all three of them were all sound asleep again before kicking off his shoes and quietly treading to the closet door. He had a silver knife handy in his belt and a holy water flask in his pocket. He opened the door, just to check. All that was there was dust bunnies, and an odd symbol carved into the back, mostly covered by the wooden paneling. Not deeming it important he closed the door tightly and walked away.

There was nothing that was getting to his kids. And that included made up terrors in motel room closets.

 **Next: Sam's first shooting lesson.**


	2. Blow Them Away…No, the Other Way

The drive to Bobby's was a quick one, no big stops along the way besides dinner, gas then breakfast. All but John slept in the car. They stopped at a motel in Sioux Falls for a couple of days to give Bobby time to return from hunting.

"You know Johnny, a little more warning next time would be grand."

"Sorry Bobby. November kinda snuck up on us this year."

"How's the little ones?" Bobby asked, his tone changing from annoyance to caring on a dime.

"Good. Sammy is having his first shooting lesson today. Teaching him on the .45 with the carved white handle Jim gifted us with, he renews all the blessings on it every time we see him."

"Sam's still a bit little for that ain't he?"

"He's gotta do it at some point Bobby. Dean could shoot at 7."

"But not a .45, I was just saying…that things gotta kick to it."

"He'll be fine. We're practicing on an old fence with some cans. Just wait, he's gonna blow them all away." John said, not bothering to hide his pride in his son. He was going to do just fine. Just like his brother and sister.

The grass was nearly knee high and the kids sat on a picnic table that was on its way to returning to nature, the holes riddled through were black and rotten.

Sam watched curiously as John sat up cans on a wooden fence that led to a giant field. "Is it hard? To shoot the cans?"

"Nah." Dean said, leaning back and letting the limited sun warm his freckled face. "Once you learn to aim, it comes naturally. The hard part comes with moving targets, those are fun. More challenging."

John approached quietly, "Sit up Dean."

"Yes sir." He quickly sat up straight and faced forward.

Lesson time.

"Alright you three. Line up." John instructed.

The guns that had been lying the table untouched were picked up by the rightful sibling and they lined up shoulder to shoulder facing their father. He rounded to stand behind them.

"Natalie, want to take out the first set?"

Nodding, she flipped her pony-tail back over her shoulder, and adjusted her grip. Dean teased his sister mercilessly, (mostly on principle of being a girl) but he couldn't deny her deadly grace as she shot each of the cans and sent them flying over fence. His sister, he'd admit, was kinda badass.

"Very good. You've improved." John said. "Dean." He nodded to his oldest.

Dean almost looked bored as he shot of the next three cans. "Come on dad, need to upgrade the targets."

"This is just a practice drill for you, to keep you sharp, its lesson number one for Sammy, that's why we're keeping it easy."

Dean turned to his little brother, he looked scared stiff, he feet were wide apart, he held the gun at the ground, and even though he had the safety on, he kept glancing down like it would suddenly fire. "Don't you think he should try a lesser caliber first? That .45's a little big for him."

John shrugged. "Nat's first gun was a .45."

"And the kick threw my arms so hard over my head I thought my arms were gonna fall off." Natalie argued.

John tiredly ran his hand down over his face. "Don't argue. Give him the benefit of the doubt,"

John moved closer to his youngest, and with his toe, nudged Sam's feet closer together. "Sam, you remember the talk we had this morning?"

"Yes sir."

"What did I tell you?"

Sam gulped, "Don't point a gun unless you plan to shoot."

** "Yes. Now, once you're more experienced, you can loosen up a bit, but I want you standing like this," he manipulated Sam's stance, raising his arms and pressing his back straight. "Okay, use this part," He ran his fingers over the top of the gun, "to line your sight with what your aiming at, one eye here, one eye on target." John let go of Sam and took a step to the side. "Take the safety off and pointing _away,_ from everyone, pull back on this part here" John tapped. It was a small struggle, and after nearly five minutes Sam got it cocked right. "Don't get flustered Sam." John said resting his hands on the base of Sam's neck. "We'll work on it. Fix your hand's back," before John could move his hands for him, Sam adjusted his grip perfectly. John couldn't contain his grin. "Good, it will be good for a few shots, before you have to re-cock it," John moved to stand further to the side of his son, but still far behind, He made sure his other kids were clear as well. They had taken their seats again at the picnic table. "Pull the trigger." **

Sam took a deep breath, holding it, and squeezed the trigger. Not even John expected Sam to fly back so fast. It was like an invisible rope just yanked him back. He even flew off his feet and landed hard on his back, letting the breath he had held out in one big forced huff.

John quickly reached for Sam and sat him up, "Are you okay?"

Sam took a shaky breath, tears threatening to gather in his eyes, "Landed hard." he wheezed.

John helped him to his feet, then scooped up the gun turning the safety back on. "Think you kids were right, too much kick."

"He can try my 9mm." Dean offered.

"Good idea Dean." They swapped guns, John checked how many bullets were left and nodded, mentally calculating how many he'd have to buy and make. Sam learning to shoot was gonna boost those numbers a tad. A necessary sacrifice.

"Dad?" His head glanced to his daughter, her voice odd.

"Yeah?" She was staring off at the cans, her arm rising to point.

Only two of the cans stood. There had been three.

"How in the world." John laughed, then clapped Sam on the back. "Yah got one Sammy," he said proudly.

Dean laughed, "Dude, when you are blowing targets away, try not to fly the other way. We all know how your last flight went." He winked.

Sam gave him an ugly look. "Jerk."

"Bitch." Dean shrugged, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Morons." Nat finished.

"Enough, all of you," John said, hiding his amusement under a thin layer of sternness. "Sam? Ready to try again?"

Sam nodded and stood where he had been before, and held the new gun. It did fit in his hand much better, and it was easier to cock. "I'm ready." He said.

"Go."

The next two cans flew off the fence. John and Sam's siblings just stood in awe.

"Dude. How…?" Dean said, finally speaking up.

Sam just shrugged. "Lucky shot?"

John just ran his hand over his hair. His children never ceased to amaze him.

 **** I know nothing about guns. All I know, is some, like high caliber, have bigger kicks.**

 **(Everything is okay in the following mini-story) My friend went shooting with her dad, brother and uncle sometimes, and they gave her this gun to use once (idk what kind it was) she tried to argue the kick was too strong and she needed to use a different one and asked someone to swap, and the kick was so strong whenever she shot it, it threw her arms over her head really hard.**

 **The only reason I know some of the names of the guns is from SuperWiki.**

 **The .45 Sam uses at first is the one Dean mostly uses. I didn't want to call it by its name, Colt### didn't want it to be confused with THE Colt.**

 **The 9mm that Dean swaps with Sam is Sam's preferred Beretta. Hence why they have what gun they have.**

 **If anyone would like to drop some gun facts in my PM or even in the review thread so others could see that would be awesome. ****


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